Eight Quotes Stuck in Our Minds From reSITE 2019 REGENERATE
Here are some of our favorite quotes we still have stuck in our heads from the 8th annual event keeping us inspired - and mindful - in how we go forth in designing and developing for future generations.
Dull, inert cities, it is true, do contain the seeds of their own destruction and little else. But lively, diverse, intense cities contain the seeds of their own regeneration, with energy enough to carry over for problems and needs outside themselves.
No, the late Jane Jacobs didn’t make it to our conference this year, but her words couldn’t be more timeless. This year, a global roster of mayors and architects, developers and designers, curators, and activists took to the reSITE 360-degree stage to dissect the idea of regenerating our cities from every angle.
Creativity is the ultimate renewable energy.
Ravi Naidoo, founder of the world-renowned festival Design Indaba, kicked off reSITE 2019 with words that rang throughout the two days of inspring ideas on city-making.“Creativity is the ultimate renewable energy” and is also the ultimate anthem to how we defined REGENERATE. When we are thinking about regenerating our cities to be more sustainable, more lovable, more accessible and more inclusive, we see our own regenerative creativity as the key. Listen to Ravi on Design and the City.
We’re forgetting that we have collective power.
Bianca Wylie (TechReset) has made a name for herself by putting what’s problematic about Toronto’s controversial smart city project developed by Sidewalk Labs on the map. Her outspoken, self-published criticisms of tech companies sliding their way into public spaces under the guise of liveability and the agenda of profit, have forced us to reconsider the dark side of smart cities. Wylie argues that public space isn’t a commodity and that it puts us close to undermining our democracy while reminding us to not be passive when it comes to who, or what, we are really building our cities for.
With technology, we can design for uncertainty and rethink together the future of our cities.
Dutch UNStudio's Marianthi Tatari presented the other side of the coin on smart cities with what their aim to build the “smartest neighborhood in the world” with Brainport District. She reminded us that when used responsibly, this sort of technology can actually be beneficial to our lives, as long as we still retain privacy and control over where that data goes. It’s a reminder that we are building cities for people - not for profit. Listen to Marianthi on Design and the City.
Making something that doesn’t feel like somewhere else that we’ve been.
In times where it seems there is nothing new under the sun, we applaud Thomas Heatherwick’s intentions and design process with his delicate approach to regeneration projects like Coal Drops Yard and Zeitz MOCAA which seem to capture just that. Known for his varied work defying the conventional classification of design disciplines, Thomas founded Heatherwick Studio to bring the practices of design, architecture and urban planning together in a single workspace. Next, he will bring those same principals to the Saravin complex and a whole new life to Prague’s Nové Město. We can only imagine what life will be revived in this space! Listen to Thomas on Design and the City.
Every community has seeds of their own regeneration, right there.
It just takes some intention and intervention to cultivate it. Emmanuel Pratt advises that giving people in vulnerable communities the tools to regenerate themselves creates an active process and a sense of ownership, making it easier for members to find that space to create. Pratt is a co-founder of the Sweetwater Foundation and 2019 MacArthur prize winner. He focuses on the transformative processes of economic development through intersections of food security and sustainable design innovation for the communities who need it most.
We have to be ready for the city to shape us and not the other way around.
It’s an important discussion, one we’ve been discussing at reSITE events about who we include in the conversation on planning our urban spaces. The mayor of West Sacramento, Christopher Cabaldon makes the case for the fluid transaction that perhaps using the city to change the minds of the people helps progress us forward, rather than the other way around. Speaking from his 20-year reign in the California capital suburb, Cabaldon has turned the city around into what is considered one of the most livable small cities in the United States. Listen to Christopher on Design and the City.
If you can’t put yourself in the position of the other side, then you can’t be part of the conversation.
Perhaps a statement that could be applied towards solving just about any problem. Jee Liu, WallaceLiu represents a new generation of architects, building her co-founded studio on the complex relationships between the new and the old thorugh adaptive reuse along with the importance of imersing yourself into the culture and perspectives of people to understand their needs. We couldn't agree more.
Every day is a regeneration of yourself.
Iconic Czech-born architect Eva Jiřičná had an ethereal kind of wisdom as she chatted with reSITE 2019 curator Greg Lindsay on the more informal Shared Cities Live Mic stage. During the event, we are often talking about the regeneration on a large scale found in mostly tangible places around our cities, but it also happens on a microscale daily, amounting to the sum of the bigger picture. It brings us back full-circle to the first quote from Ravi Naidoo on creativty being the ulimate renewable energy.
We all have the power to REGENERATE...
Our trailblazing reSITE speakers, whose ideas, thoughts and questions left us to revitalize our own and reminded us of the fluidity regeneration holds. We all have the power to REGENERATE the way we engage our communities, utilize technology, and creatively innovate to redefine the spaces we live in for generations to come.
More from reSITE 2019 REGENERATE
Six Quotes on Regenerating Cities to Tackle the Climate Crisis from reSITE 2019
As we forward from REGENERATE, some quotes, thought and ideas hang in our minds. When we think about regenerating our cities - making the old new again utilizing repurposed space with rejuvenated programs, a crucial question was how to incorporate climate action into city-making.
reSITE 2019 REGENERATE: Human Creativity is the Ultimate Renewable Energy
In its most diverse edition yet, REGENERATE hosted a rich and interdisciplinary conversation about the future of life in cities, attracting twelve hundred participants from 25 countries to 3 stages, side events and parties.
Yosuke Hayano on How Architecture Can Create Emotional Connections to Nature
Principal architect for MAD Architects, Yosuke Hayano says the studio strives to connect architecture to nature through the creation of emotional and spiritual spaces for everyday life.
Jee Liu on Applying Subtle Design to Adaptive Reuse
At the core of WallaceLiu’s projects is a design practice called adaptive reuse. In the age of the quest for sustainability, adaptive reuse is becoming more of a necessity for city-makers worldwide.
